Staff Reports
Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2021 Legislative Session:
The Last 24
With the passage of new state House and Senate maps, the redistricting process has shifted from a legislative matter to one of judicial scrutiny. The bill (SB 100) passed out of the Senate Thursday on a 37-0 vote. Notably, the Senate map last month earned three ‘no’ votes from Democratic Sens. Audrey Gibson, Gary Farmer and Victor Torres. At the time, they cited concerns about the fact the Senate map holds the same number of minority access districts as are in place now, despite growth in Hispanic populations over the past decade. Similar concerns dogged the House map, which was approved with far less bipartisanship and moved ahead on a near party-line 77-39 vote. The legislative maps, unlike congressional maps still in the works, passed as a joint resolution and therefore can become law without the involvement of the Governor’s Office. Here’s your nightly rundown.
Appointment powers. A bill (SB 1658) that would allow the Governor to appoint a DEP Secretary without Cabinet approval is ready for a floor vote in the Senate.
Must do. Senate President Wilton Simpson said lawmakers would “fail” Floridians if they don’t address the current “crisis” in the property insurance market.
Sleeping on the job. Sen. Jeff Brandes lashed out at fellow Republicans — including Gov. Ron DeSantis — for ignoring the state’s growing property insurance crisis.
Crystal clear. House Speaker Chris Sprowls signaled support for continuing legislative water conservation efforts a day after an FIU study found drug contaminants in bonefish.
Keep VISITING FLORIDA. The Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill (SB 434) to extend the life of the state’s tourism marketing agency for an additional eight years.
Sacking SACS. A higher education proposal in the House would require colleges and universities to seek out new accrediting bodies.
EASE-y money. The House unveiled a three-tier plan for a college grant program that could see some private schools shut out from receiving funds.
Power play. A utility-backed bill (HB 741) to require future rooftop solar panel customers to pay higher rates was approved by the House Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee.
Cyber terror. The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee OK’d a bill (HB 1453) that would modernize cybersex crime laws and criminalize the theft of sexually explicit pictures.
Keep out. A House panel gave a thumbs-up to a bill (HB 1355) that would intensify Florida’s crackdown against illegal immigration.
High-speed hookups. Bills (HB 1543/HB 1545) setting aside $500 million in federal money for broadband expansion cleared the House Tourism, Infrastructure and Energy Subcommittee with a unanimous vote.
Port Palatka? Putnam County might not be a coastal county, but lawmakers are considering a bill (SB 1038) that would add it to the state’s seaport infrastructure improvement panel.
Sunrise Act. A bill (HB 1185) that would bolster state laws regarding fiscal analysis of proposed legislation is advancing through the House.
Keep it secret. The Senate is primed to vote on legislation (SB 520) that would provide a public records exemption on information about applicants seeking state higher ed presidential positions.
Requesting backup. The Senate passed a memorial (SM 826) calling on federal leaders to bolster the ranks of the Florida National Guard.
Quote of the Day
“Thank you to this body for the professionalism we brought to the process this year with redistricting. We can and should be very proud of the work we’ve done here today, and we’ll see if the courts are equally as proud.”
— Senate President Wilton Simpson, after lawmakers approved new maps for state legislative districts.
Bill Day’s Latest
3 Questions
Floridians could find it more challenging and less affordable to put solar panels on their roofs. The House Tourism, Infrastructure, and Energy Subcommittee approved a bill (HB 741) by Rep. Lawrence McClure today. The legislation would undercut a consumer policy called net metering, which allows homeowners and businesses to receive a one-to-one credit on their utility bill for the excess electricity their solar panels generate that is returned to the grid.
Florida Politics spoke with George Riley, executive director of Conservatives for Clean Energy, about the legislation.
Q: What impact would this bill have on solar in Florida if it becomes law?
Riley: The solar industry is just beginning to gain traction in the state. Right now, even with less than 1% of Floridians using rooftop solar, the solar industry supports more than 40,000 jobs and generates over $18 billion in economic opportunity. These are high-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced to other states. Any proposed policy that guts Florida’s net metering laws will cost us thousands of those jobs in a matter of months.
Q: Why do people choose to use rooftop solar?
Riley: There are plenty of benefits to rooftop solar, but cost is one of the biggest motivators. Florida gets about 70% of its electricity from burning natural gas. That heavy dependence on a single fuel source makes us dangerously susceptible to price increases when costs go up. Over the past year, utility bills have gone up as the cost of natural gas has gone up. Many people want to avoid the rate roller coaster and take control of their utility bills by using rooftop solar. About one out of every three net-metered customers for Florida’s largest utility has a household income of less than $50,000. If we abolish net metering, those customers will see their utility bills increase, and the value of their investments plummet.
Q: Supporters of the legislation say that eliminating net metering will lower utility bills and avoid a cost shift. Is that the case?
Riley: The reality is that nothing in this proposal will result in lower bills for a single Floridian. Those who want to do away with net metering contend that there’s some type of cost shift from people who have solar to those who don’t — but that simply doesn’t hold up. Rooftop solar users pay a range of additional costs that include minimum bills, grid connection fees, and plenty of other charges. They also help the community by supplying power to their neighbors during peak usage times and helping delay the need for costly new power plants. Rather than stomping out a budding industry, we should be embracing energy freedom and encouraging rooftop solar.
Lobby Up
Sen. Manny Diaz Jr. and Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin have filed bills this Session that would more strictly regulate pet sales — and help cut down on puppy mills.
The new legislation (SB 994/HB 849) has some similarities to bills put forward in past Sessions. They would require retail pet stores to obtain a license from the Department of Business and Professional regulation to sell animals and require stores to source animals only from qualified breeders, animal rescues, animal shelters, pet brokers, or individuals exempt from licensure. That includes individuals who don’t routinely sell animals.
Additionally, a bill (HB 253) filed by Winter Haven Republican Rep. Sam Killebrew would prohibit pet stores from selling dogs and cats. Stores that break the rule will face a civil penalty of $500 or double the sale price, whichever is higher.
Animal welfare advocates have long pushed for a ban, arguing that it would stamp out underhanded business tactics in the pet industry. Some stores, derided as “puppy mills,” sell dogs that are sick or with undisclosed hereditary conditions that require veterinary attention. Additionally, some pet stores offer borderline predatory loans to finance the purchase of a purebred puppy, some of which sell for thousands of dollars.
In response, dozens of city and county governments have approved pet sale bans, resulting in a patchwork of local rules.
Home rule advocates and animal welfare groups say the proposed statewide regulations put forward by Diaz and Fernandez-Barquin don’t go far enough. Major players in the pet industry, however, argue the nuclear option is unwarranted — they agree there are bad actors, and they say tighter regulation could rout them out without putting aboveboard vendors out of business.
The biggest of the bunch is Petland, which has more than 100 franchise locations across the country, including several in Florida.
The company bolstered its lobbying corps substantially in the months leading up to the Legislative Session. Since the beginning of November, it has added on Oscar Anderson, Edgar Castro, Christopher Dudley and Clark Smith of The Southern Group; James Daughton, Douglas Bell, Allison Liby-Schoonover and Andrew Palmer of Metz Husband & Daughton; David Ramba, Evan Power and Cameron Yarbrough of Ramba Consulting; Robert Hawken and Meredith Snowden of Leath Consulting; and Michael Cantens of Flagler Strategies.
Three weeks into Session, Diaz’s bill has cleared one committee and has two stops remaining, while Fernandez-Barquin’s and Killebrew’s bills have yet to be heard.
Breakthrough Insights
The Next 24
— The Florida Board of Nursing will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Lake Buena Vista South in Kissimmee.
— The Florida Board of Orthotists and Prosthetists will meet at 9 a.m. The meeting will be streamed online. The call-in number is 1-877-309-2073. The conference code is 679270733.
Full committee agendas, including bills to be considered, are available on the House and Senate websites.
